Short Film discussion post

Address three of the following questions. You may also take the
conversation in new directions. Be sure to apply concepts and
vocabulary studied in this week’s reading and to respond to at
least one other student’s original post. 

1. Most Westerns deal with the issue or justice, crime,
punishment and order versus chaos. The Ox-Bow Incident is
no exception. There are several conversations where various
characters are making comments or offering their ideas about
how justice should work or what it is and isn’t. There are, of
course, also actions that point to an “understanding” of justice
(you may not necessarily agree with this understanding).
Ultimately, what do you think the movie is saying about how
justice does and does not work? Use specific examples and
characters as you respond.


2. The posse decides early on that lynching is the best way to
handle the suspects. We get several shots of the rope/ropes.
What is the impact of seeing the rope/ropes? Consider the
time period when this story is set: 1885. Historically, what role
does lynching begin to have in our country during that time
and beyond? You might want to consider what Revered
Sparks (the only black character) says about lynching. Also,
comment on why the posse would have chosen lynching over
another form of execution? 


3. Westerns have a tradition of using stories, rumors, hearsay
and a person’s reported reputation to propel plot lines. A
character will tell a story about another or himself/herself or
rely solely on reputation of another in order to form a
judgment about that person (of course, we all do that to some
extent—however, it is taken a bit to the extreme in the western
genre). During the time when most westerns are set, forms of
communication beyond stories are rare. So the spoken word

and a form of what we might call tall-tales became a way to
convey information—often largely inaccurate but powerful in
its telling. There are several examples in The Ox-Bow
Incident of how a rumor or a story about a person influences
an outcome. Discuss a few examples—be specific and
thorough as you mention the story told and the impact it has.


4. Major Tetley and his step-son, Gerald, have a lot of tension in
their relationship, and the final few minutes of the film end in a
tragic/dramatic fashion between the two of them. How is the
filmmaker using these two characters to develop various
definitions of masculinity and what it means to “be a man”?
Use specific quotes and scenes to clarify your response. It
may be useful to consider how the audience of the time frame
the story is set in (1885), the time frame of its production
(1943) and our modern eyes today may differently view or
interpret the role and meaning of “manliness.”


5. Women, people of color and any marginalized group of people
are often overlooked or represented in a limited and
stereotypical way in most Westerns. Again, The Ox-Bow
Incident follows this genre convention with limited
representation of diverse people. There are only 4 female
characters (Rose, Rose’s sister-in-law, Judge Taylor’s
housekeeper, Ma Grier and the woman in the painting) shown
on screen and one more female character, Mrs. Miller (who
we don’t meet but certainly is a part of the story) mentioned.
In their brief appearances, discuss how each is a stereotype
or even caricature of a woman. We also meet a black
character (Reverend Sparks) and 2 characters who seem to
be from Mexico (Poncho and Juan Martinez). In what ways do
these characters serve as a limited representation and in what
ways do they break through the stereotypes (if they do)?

Vocabulary

Art director
Production designer
Composition
Framing
Closed frame
Open frame
Moving frame
Off-screen space
On-screen space
On location
Set